Rating of
1/4
Pretty, But Not Much Else
Azerafel - wrote on 04/25/14
While I was aware that this movie was not going to be a traditional samurai film, I was curious enough to want to see how the legendary story of the 47 Ronin would be interpreted by Hollywood. So it was a good thing that I braced myself for disappointment. The decision to make Keanu Reeves one of the lead characters was most likely an attempt to make the film more relatable to a western audience, which was understandable from a marketing perspective. The addition of the fantasy element was a largely baffling, to be honest, even if Rinko Kikuchi did an awesome job playing that crazy kitsune. All in all the changes only served to confuse those not familiar with the samurai genre and alienated those who were. A shame, because the concept could have been awesome in the right hands.
